Mate Her by Jenika Snow

8

Minka lay in bed, stared at the stalactites above her, and thought about everything the brothers had done and said to her this far. It was easy to accept something when she didn’t have anything to gain or lose, but in all honesty, these men treated her better than anyone ever had in her life, Jobe included.

Although Jobe showed her kindness and pleasure, they hadn’t been in a relationship and hadn’t really known each other for very much time. Everyone else she had ever come in contact with treated her as if she were just another mouth to feed, a body to clothe, and as if she was holding them down.

But Minka supposed when her species was on the brink of extinction, it was a fight for life kind of situation.

She moved off the bed and grabbed a light animal hide to wrap around her body. The lighting was dim, and everything was so quiet. Minka padded out of the room and down the short hallway. The stone around her was almost ominous with the shadows playing across it. She couldn’t sleep, and she thought walking around would help clear her mind.

Stepping into the main room that held the sitting and cooking area, she stopped and just looked around. Everything was so dark, and the few flames that were in the walls, lighting those little spaces, made everything so much more frightening.

The entrance to the cave was about ten feet from her, but all she could see were the small flames flickering back and forth. The entrance had many twists and turns, but she wasn’t enough of a fool to try to escape.

For one thing, this was not a planet she could live on. Minka was smart enough to know that for as unsure as she was about all of this, she was safest with these Hades warriors.

“Thinking of escaping?”

She turned and saw the dark figure rising from the sitting bench. He turned and faced her, and the flickering flames illuminated his face. Even if she hadn’t been able to see Lukin’s face, she’d have known it was the youngest brother. He moved closer, and she took one step back, not because she was afraid, but because it was an instinct.

“You weren’t going to try to leave, were you?” he asked with an almost tired tone to his voice.

Minka shook her head, but then licked her lips and said, “No, of course not. I’m not an idiot.”

He moved closer.

“I know I’m safer with you three.”

He nodded, and when he stopped in front of her, she inhaled deeply, like she was instinctively bringing him into her body. “That’s good, because you are,” he said and reached up. He snagged a lock of her hair, held it up to the light, and rubbed the strands between his fingers.

When Lukin dropped her hair and it landed back on her shoulder he took a step back. “There isn’t anyone on this planet, or in this galaxy, who will protect you the way we will.”

“I know.” And she did, without a doubt, which was as strange as it was comforting. She knew this, because she felt it deep in her body, in her bones and cells—in the very make-up of her soul. She relied on her instincts to help her survive, to keep her moving away from threats, and to give her strength to fight when she needed to.

Her instincts were telling her that these men really would lay down their lives for her if it meant she would survive another day. A part of her couldn’t wrap her brain around that, because she didn’t know them or really understand this whole mate and breeding mentality.

That wasn’t how humans were programmed, but if she wanted to make this work, she needed to accept that this was her fate and that it could be a lot worse.

“I couldn’t sleep,” she said softly, not knowing why she even spoke. Maybe she just wanted to break up this weird silence that stretched between them. She looked over at the bench he had been lying on. “You slept out here?”

He was silent for a moment and then exhaled. “I couldn’t sleep either.” He stared into her face, and despite the fact that she couldn’t see him very well, she had a feeling he saw her as easily as if the sun was in the room with them. “I usually leave for a few hours when everything is silent and my brothers are asleep. It lets me think and clears my head.” The silence stretched between them for a second. “But I know you need plenty of water, and I was going to go out tonight and stock up.”

She swallowed, and her mouth and throat were so very dry, yet not because she was thirsty, but because this male made her feel strange—in a good way.

“Are you hungry? Thirsty?” he asked just as softly, but because his voice was so deep, it seemed much louder in this great cavern.

“No.” She held onto the hide tighter and felt sweat start to bead between her breasts.

Lukin tilted his head to the side and examined her like she was some kind of experiment. “I can assume how difficult all this is for you.”

“Can you?” She didn’t say it with an attitude but was genuinely curious if he really did understand what she could be feeling.

“Well, I guess I have never been in your situation, so I can only imagine. But you’re probably frightened, confused, and don’t know how everything will play out.” He smiled, and she realized that small act changed his entire “demon-like” appearance. He seemed almost softer.

They stared at each other for a few seconds, and then she found the courage to ask him, “Can I go with you?”

“You want to go with me to fetch water?”

She nodded. “Yes. I just want to get out of here, see the planet that is my new home, and clear my head.”

He didn’t respond for a moment and then exhaled. “That is not a good idea, Minka. It is dangerous out there—”

“I trust you,” she said without hesitance, and she did, with her life.

He shook his head, turned his back to her, and the silence once again intensified.

“I do trust you, Lukin, but I have to get out of this cave. I feel like my life is unraveling right before me.”

He faced her again and then breathed out as if relenting. “I should let my brothers know, because they wouldn’t want me to take you...” He ran a hand over his hair and looked at the cave entrance. “But they would say you shouldn’t go, and I can see you desperately need to.”

She nodded slowly.

“I’m going to get in trouble if they find out. But would you like to see something?”

“Yes, absolutely.”

He nodded but didn’t verbally respond further. Lukin held his hand out, and she looked down at the rugged, calloused, and large offering. Minka’s heart was racing, but she shifted the hide off of her and placed it on the rock counter beside her. She slipped her hand in his, and her heart seemed to increase its rapid tempo.

He grinned, and the sight of his straight white teeth and those wicked-looking fangs flashed in the darkness. “You’re brave.”

She didn’t know what that meant exactly, aside from the obvious, but Minka had a feeling it meant something different. Maybe because she was putting her trust in this male, her very life in fact, and he was making it known she was strong for going with him. She needed to stop analyzing things and just go with it all.

He started to lead them out of the cave and into the tunnel, but she tugged at his hand until he stopped. He glanced over his shoulder. “Second thoughts?”

She shook her head and glanced down at herself. “I’m only wearing this shift. Is that fine for whatever you have planned?” She was also barefoot, but she supposed wherever he wanted to take her would require him to carry her, as she couldn’t possible walk comfortably or safely on the rocks.

“I’ll be flying us to where we need to go, so no worries on your appearance.” He turned and led her out of the cave. Once out, she was surprised that it wasn’t unbearably hot as it was during the day. Lukin pulled her closer, but she placed a hand on his bare chest, stopping him. He glanced down at her, looking curious. “Frightened?”

Minka stared at her surroundings. The sky was pitch-black, but the view was phenomenal. What made the sight amazing were the fires that burned brightly all around them. The lava that made creeks and running streams below her bubbled and popped with fire. The forest in the distance looked incredible as only the branches were lit with the orange-and-red flames.

“Wow.” She glanced at Lukin, saw that he stared at her intently, and then he squeezed her hand gently and pulled her close to him. Her chest pressed to his, and the muscles that lay beneath his skin flexed from the contact. She swallowed again, feeling this arousal start to claim her as she stared into his onyx-colored eyes.

“This isn’t what I want to show you,” he said low, deep, and she felt his words right on her clit. He inhaled deeply, made this low rumble, and then in the next second, they were airborne.

Minka clutched at him, but she knew he wouldn’t let her fall. He had shifted her right before he took off, so her back was to his chest, and his arms were tightly wound around her belly. His wings made great gusts of wind around them, but it was the feel of his claws lightly pressing into her body and the danger that lay right below her, that had her alight with anticipation.

This was frightening as much as it was exciting, and all she could do was take it all in.

Minka didn’t know how long they flew, swooping low and taking turns around the giant mountains and crevices that lay between them, but soon she had her eyes closed and her arms out. She could almost imagine herself flying alone, of taking in this freedom that she had only dreamed about. He soon landed though, and when she touched her feet against the cool, smooth surface, she finally opened her eyes.

Right in front of her was this massively large ocean, or at least she assumed it was. But there was no vast body of water—flames danced along lava instead.

“It’s...” She couldn’t finish the sentence, because she didn’t know how to put it in words.

“It’s something, isn’t it,” he said without phrasing it as a question.

“I’ve never even dreamed of something like this.” She looked up at him, and he wrapped his arm around her, pulling her close.

“It’s the Baltinka Ocean, the largest body of lava on Hades.”

“There isn’t any water on your planet?” she asked but still stared at the lava and flames.

“There is some deep within the mountains, but it’s minimal, and anything that is out in this climate evaporates far too quickly to be of any use. Besides, Hades warriors don’t need much water to survive. But there is one mountain in particular where we gather what water we do need, and after this, I’ll take you there and show you the Rubina gems we sometimes extract to barter with.”

The waves crashed along the sharp, black stone shore. And then right in front of her, this giant beast erupted from the surface, his frighteningly large, scaled body and razor-sharp teeth coming into view. It was a monster, a creature that looked gruesome and right out of her nightmares. It crashed back into the lava, and then another jumped out.

The sounds they made had her ears ringing.

“They’re hungry and looking for food,” Lukin said and held her tighter. They were far from the shore of this horrid scene, but still he kept her safe, held onto her, and she knew he wouldn’t let anything hurt her.

“Surely making those god-awful sounds will have its food going in the other direction?” she prompted and stared at the ocean of monsters.

“Yes, but they are desperate now and calling others like them. Soon, there will be hundreds of the beasts to scour the ocean and hunt down prey.”

A chill ran up her spine despite the heat. God, this place had unspeakable beings living on it. Compared to them, she was a weakling, a fragile human. And to think—the Hades males were the predators on this planet, even to those fearsome beasts crashing above the surface of the fire water. “It’s certainly a sight, that’s for sure, but it scares the hell out of me.”

Lukin turned her around so she was facing him and cupped her cheek. “Do I scare you as much as these creatures and my world do?”

She didn’t respond for a moment and then licked her dry lips and glanced down at his mouth. This low noise left him, like he could sense how much that was, in fact, the opposite of how she felt for him and his brothers.

“No, you don’t frighten me,” she said softly. He started stroking her cheeks with his thumbs, his hands so big and strong, yet cupping her face gently. He stared right into her eyes, and despite the things going on around them, the danger that presented itself, Lukin started to lean forward. She wanted this, wanted his lips on hers, his kiss taking everything else away, and to get lost in nothing that wasn’t right here and now.

His mouth was on hers seconds later, and he speared his hand in her hair, keeping her stationed for his ministrations. Minka could just focus on the two of them, and nothing else mattered, but as he swept his tongue along hers, the sound of scraping behind her had Lukin thrusting her behind him instantly, the arousal leaving her right away.

Minka looked around his massive arm and saw this winged creature crawling up the side of the mountain, right toward them. The flames provided her with enough light that she could see one of its wings was sliced in half, barely hanging on. This black substance, which she assumed was blood, dripped out of a gaping wound in its bony, spike-like head.

It stopped a few feet from them, and a hissing, screeching noise came from it. It was loud and ear-piercing, and Minka forced herself not to cry out from the sound.

Lukin grabbed a blade that he had tucked in his boot and pushed her back another inch. “You stay back. Do not move to draw attention to yourself, and everything will be okay,” he said but didn’t look at her. “It’s injured, confused, and on any other occasion wouldn’t dare confront a warrior. It’s unstable, and I don’t know how it will react.”

The creature hissed, and more goo came out of its mouth to land on the rock beneath it. She didn’t move, didn’t even breathe for that matter, but when the creature lunged forward, she stumbled over a rock. She crashed down, and stars danced in front of her vision as her head slammed back against the hard ground.

She opened her eyes but remembered Lukin told her to stay still. Everything inside her screamed to move and ease the pain, but she tried to breathe through it all. The rock that was piercing her flesh wasn’t nearly as painful as her head that throbbed, but she forced herself to stay still. The sight before her was as fantastical as it was frightening.

Lukin was slashing out with his blade, cutting the beast like it was nothing more than a nuisance. With the light flickering over his massive body and the blood from the beast splashing on his nude chest, even if Minka wanted to move, she wouldn’t have been able to. Watching him fight, cut into the animal’s scaly and oily flesh, and hearing the roars come from Lukin, had this power moving through her.

It was strange to be injured and to have this danger right in front of her, but to also feel drawn to it all. Bracing her hands on the rock, she felt a razor-sharp piece dig into her skin. The pain was indescribable, and she hissed out softly. But the beast heard the sound regardless and lunged past Lukin to get to her. Right when it was inches from her, Lukin brought his blade to its spindly neck, decapitating it.

Blood sprayed on her chest and face, and she stared at the lifeless body and ghastly head just inches from her. Adrenaline pumped through her veins, and she tried to calm herself, or at least not cry from her emotions.

Boots stepped into her line of vision, and then she was in Lukin’s arms. He didn’t say anything, but he was tense, and the scent of the animal’s blood that covered them both had her nearly retching.

“Our sweet mate, are you okay?”

She nodded and rested her head on his chest. “I’ll be okay.”

“Fuck, Minka, I shouldn’t have taken you out of the cave, and not without telling my brothers.” He sounded angry, and she knew it was because he was upset with himself.

“It wasn’t your fault, and you did protect me, Lukin.”

He curled his hands into her body and kissed the top of her head. “We will get you healed as soon as we have you back in the cave.” He held her tighter, and his voice had gone deadly hard. “But my brothers are going to kick my ass, and rightly so.”

She knew everything would be okay, but what would Brawn and Thorque say when they realized what happened? She was just as much to blame as Lukin. Minka had willingly left the cave, but she knew she had never been in any real danger, and aside from her head and cut palms, Lukin protected her from the real threat.